While pain medications, medications to reduce or eliminate anxiety attacks (psychotherapeutic drugs), stimulants and sleeping pills can be safe, effective, and therapeutically useful when administered properly, such drugs are susceptible to abuse. Examples of such compositions include but are not limited to ROXICODONE® (oxycodone tablets), OXYCONTIN® (oxycodone tablets), DILAUDID® (hydromorphone tablets), OPANA® and OPANA ER® (oxymorphone tablets), MS CONTIN® (morphine tablets), CONCERTA®, METHYLIN®, RITALIN®, RITALIN LA®, and EQUASYM KL® (methylphenidate tablets and capsules), FOCALIN® (dexmethylphenidate capsules), ADDERALL®, DEXEDRINE®, and DEXTROSTAT® (dextroamphetamine tablets and capsules), VYVANSE® (lisdexamfetamine capsules), ATIVAN® (lorazepam), XANAX® (alprazolam), and VALIUM® (diazepam).
A sense of euphoria or “high” can be experienced with high serum concentrations of these drugs. Individuals seeking to abuse these drugs will often tamper with oral dosage forms containing the drugs to achieve this “high.” For example, a large amount of tablets can be placed in a liquid to form a solution, and abusers either consume the liquid or more often filter and inject the solution. These tablets can also be crushed into a powder or small particle sizes and snorted intranasally. Nasal insufflation, which is another term for the inhalation of substances through the nose, is a common and harmful practice among abusers. Long-term practice of nasal insufflation can result in permanent damage to nasal tissue and increased incidence of toxicity and overdose. There is a need in the art for pharmaceutical compositions which minimize the ability for abuse, and when administered properly, provide an adequate and effective amount of drug.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pharmaceutical composition that reduces the potential for improper administration drugs but which, when administered as directed through oral administration, is capable of delivering a therapeutically effective dose to a subject. In particular, the present invention addresses the need for an orally administrable drug product which, compared to conventional formulations, decreases the ability of an individual to achieve a “high” or euphoria effect through injection or insufflation.